In a world where violence and power are often intertwined, Jesus Christ of Nazareth stands in stark contrast to the world’s conquerors and their violent quests for Kingdom and power.  

Julius Caesar of Rome, gold-crowned and resplendent in purple toga, deployed his hordes of sword-wielding Legionnaires to brutally subjugate and then maintain control of conquered lands in the first century. In the twelfth century, Genghis Khan of Mongolia levelled village after smouldering village as he gained territory and amassed wealth through his hostile forces of warriors, warhorses and arrows.  

Over millennia, these tyrannical rulers, and many others, display a pattern of horrific violence for anyone standing in the way of their quest for power. 
 
Today, Baptist World Aid works alongside local Christian Partners in countries reeling from this type of violent rule. To this day, Cambodian people feel the effects of the murderous rule of Pol Pot in the 1970s. Myanmar is a more recent example of a country deeply wounded by the ruling Military Junta’s homicidal tactics. 

Standing in contrast to these conquerors is Jesus.  

In a wild deviation, Jesus demonstrated love for the weak people of the world by inviting them into participation of the new kind of kingdom he was inaugurating. One built on peace and non-violence.  

Jesus Reigns in Humility

Chapter five of Matthew’s Gospel details some hallmarks of Jesus’ new kingdom—where the meek shall inherit the earth, the merciful will be shown mercy and the peacemakers will be called children of God. 
 
While Jesus espoused a path of non-violence, he was not immune to or unaware of the world’s hardships. He encouraged his disciples when he said, ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ 
 
Ultimately, Jesus’ humility was mistaken for weakness at the hands of his executioners. Matthew 26:67 recounts the religious elite’s treatment of Jesus; ‘Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”’ 
 
Isaiah 53:7 says, ‘He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.’ 

However, it was the heavenly power of this same humility that would end violence against flesh and spirit once and for all. Jesus’ peaceful surrender to brutal authority changed the way we see leadership forever.  

Philippians 2:2-6 tells of one ‘who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!’ 

Death Swallowed Up In Victory

Jesus looked nothing like a conquering king while he hung defeated and brutalised on the Roman cross that would steal his life. His salvation act was the moment history shifted forever. ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ (1 Corinthians15:54) After disabling the sting of death, Jesus was elevated to a glory unmatched by anyone in history.  

Philippians 2:9-11 continues:  
 
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place 
    and gave him the name that is above every name, 
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
    to the glory of God the Father. 

Peaceful Conquerors 

In the same way, Jesus invites those who follow him to be non-violent beacons that point to the Kingdom that Jesus is establishing.  

The list of names of these peaceful ‘conquerors’ is always growing. Some are well known, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, while others remain anonymous, like our Christian Partners who peacefully stand with local communities against injustice to see a better world for all.  

As Easter approaches, and we reflect on Jesus’ surrender to the violence of the cross, and on his glorious resurrection, we are invited to follow him. We’re all invited to take a stand for non-violence, for humility, for peace and for justice and pursue his vision for a new kind of Kingdom on earth. One where all people can experience the fullness of life God intends.